African migrants try to reach a Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue ship after falling from a punctured rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea, about 12 miles north of Sabratha, Libya on Sunday, July 23, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of migrants are smuggled out of Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe each year by traffickers using unseaworthy craft. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

Spain pulls 60 migrants from 3 boats in Strait of Gibraltar

Spain pulls 60 migrants from 3 boats in Strait of Gibraltar

Jul. 29, 2017

MADRID (AP) — Spain's maritime rescue service says it has removed 60 migrants from three boats trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco.

The maritime service said Saturday that its rescue ship Arcturus made two separate rescues, first pulling 13 migrants from a boat and then taking on another 10 from a second craft before it returned to shore.

The service's rescue ship Salvamar then set out to intercept a third boat carrying 37 migrants.

Government authorities reported Friday that Spain had rescued 7,064 migrants from 285 boats in 2017, more than 1,000 more than number rescued in all of 2016.

Many migrants from Africa die during the perilous sea voyage to Europe made in small boats unfit for the open sea. The boats often belong to human traffickers.